SUMTER, S.C. - 1968 was one of the most tumultuous years in the history of this nation.
My only two political heroes – Martin Luther King, Jr, and Robert Kennedy – were killed in April and June of that year.
My city of Wilmington, Delaware – like many other cities – was in flames. National Guard troops were stationed on the streets of Wilmington for 9 months. It was the longest period of martial law in any American city since the Civil War.
Those men, King and Kennedy – and those events – shaped my life.
Civil rights, the Vietnam War, and a President’s rampant abuse of power – were the reasons I entered public life.
It was why I chose to leave a law firm in Delaware to become a public defender – to help those who could not afford to defend themselves.
It was why I chose to run for the county council – to combat redlining and discriminatory housing policies.
And it was why at the age of 29, I ran for the United States Senate – to end a senseless war, to fight for civil rights, and to hold a lawless president accountable. I made the decision to get off the sidelines – to get involved – to lead.
At a distance, those decisions – to get involved, to lead – seem so simple to accomplish.
You make no compromises. You only work with those with whom you agree. You live in the world you want.
The reality is quite different.
To get things done for the people you were elected to serve requires that some of the people with whom you must engage may not see the world the same as you do. Some may be downright repugnant. And sometimes things get rather messy.
But you adjust. And slowly, but surely you make progress. You find common ground – without yielding on principle – accepting some things you don’t support in order to get those things that matter more.
You work with people who may offend every fiber of your being – to achieve a greater good.
You work in the world you’ve been given – because otherwise you get nothing done.
For me, the world I was given was a United States Senate where segregationists held some of the most powerful positions.
Eight members of the Senate on the day I entered that body were signatories to the Southern Manifesto.
Everything they stood for offended me. They represented everything I had run against. It would have been nice if – if – on the day Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act they and everything they stood for had been removed from the Senate – and from the political landscape of America.
But that was not the real world.
So I took them on – and I won. And I kept winning.
Repeatedly reauthorizing the Voting Rights Act; in fact, the last time we passed that Act, the vote was 98 – 0 and it was for a 25-year extension.
I chose to work within the system – to make the system better – to get things done for the least among us.
Was I wrong? I don’t think so.
I do believe we have to work – even with those we find repugnant – to make our system of government work for all of us.
I believed that then. And I believe that now. And I know it can be done without compromising any fundamental principles.
Now – was I wrong a few weeks ago to give the impression that somehow, I was praising those men I successfully opposed time and time again?
Yes – I was. And I regret it, and am sorry for any pain that misperception may have caused.
But should that misstep define a 50-year record of fighting for civil rights and racial justice in this country? I don’t think so – and I hope you don’t either.
That just isn’t an honest assessment of my record – and I’m not going to let my record and my character be distorted and smeared.
America in 2019 is a very different place than the America of the 1970s. And that’s a good thing.
I’ve witnessed an incredible amount of change in this nation and I’ve worked to make that change happen. And yes – I’ve changed also.
I am not the same person who entered the Senate at the age of 29. I don’t pretend to have gotten everything right. I don’t pretend that none of my positions have changed. I’ve grown and that too is a good thing.
Flawed and imperfect like everyone else – I’ve made the best decisions I could at the moment those decision had to be made.
And as I look back over my career, I’m reminded of that verse from first Corinthians: “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully…”
We never know enough. We are never without blind spots. We never know the future for sure. But if the choice has been between doing nothing and acting – I have chosen to act.
I often reflect on the Prayer of Serenity: “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference,”
I hope my long experience has brought me some wisdom. I know it’s brought me a long record to defend – especially when context and history are replaced by 30 and 60 second sound bites.
And I know my record comes with something else: a treasure trove for the armies of opposition researchers determined to weaponize my record to use against me. So today I want to address those attacks.
Statements and votes I made on busing in the 1970s have become an issue in this race. But now those speaking to the issue today are saying what I said back then. The better answer is to get at the root causes of segregation.
Discrimination in housing has been one of the most pernicious forms that racism has taken in this country.
Wreaking its havoc not only on education – but in denying generation after generation of African-Americans the ability to create and pass on wealth.
That’s why we need to insist that banks have to lend in every neighborhood. We have to go after predatory lenders – and hold banking executives responsible for their discriminatory practices.
I don’t believe a child should have to get on a bus to attend a good school. There should be first-rate, quality schools in every neighborhood in this nation, especially in 2019 America. And on that score, here is what I commit to you.
First and foremost, I will name a Secretary of Education who is an Educator; one who is committed to strengthening public schools and proper pay for public school teachers. And promotes diversity both among teachers and administrators.
Second, I have proposed the biggest increase in federal resources to historically neglected and underfunded schools in this nation. I’ve proposed tripling Title 1 funding. No one else has come even close.
I know some folks prefer to focus on the past – but I am the candidate for a better future. I want to give every child in America the education they deserve.
I will pursue a program for public education that will be worthy of the legacy of Sumter native Mary McLeod Bethune, the educator and presidential advisor who began her teaching career a few blocks from here.
Now here is an often overlooked fact: you will be hard pressed to find a low performing school in a high income community. There is a direct correlation between family income and student achievement.
So while my Education Secretary is working to implement the programs I have just outlined, I will be working across the government to close the wealth gap.
First, I will work to raise the minimum wage to a livable wage. Secondly, I will initiate the largest infrastructure program in our nation’s history. And school construction and facilities will be a significant focus of that program.
There is another part of my long record that is being grossly misrepresented. The 1994 Crime Bill has been a huge source of controversy, and I understand why.
In the 1980s and 90s, violent crime was out of control in America. The 1994 Crime Bill was designed to deal with that problem.
That’s why it was supported overwhelmingly at the time by the Democratic Party and by African American leaders across the nation, including a majority of the Congressional Black Caucus.
It worked in some areas and failed in others. The violent crime rate was cut in half in the country.
It was opposed by the Republicans and people like Mitch McConnell – not because they thought it was too tough, but because they thought it was too soft. They felt it dedicated too much money to things like prevention and drug courts which I supported.
They did not like it when we removed mandatory minimums for 1st time offenders.
The bill had other things that mattered a lot to me. That bill included my Violence Against Women Act, a strengthening of the Brady Bill on background checks for gun purchasers and a ban on assault weapons.
That bill also included a few things I didn’t support. I did not support three strikes and you’re out. I did not support more mandatory minimums. I did not support more money for states to build prisons.
Those aren’t excuses; just facts. I supported the bill. I accept responsibility for what it got right, and I accept responsibility for what it got wrong.
But we lost the majority in 1994, and with it, our ability to make the bill better. And as is often the case, well-intended legislation sometimes has unintended consequences.
Now we have to deal with the problem we have today. That’s why I was proud to work alongside President Obama to help reduce the federal prison population by 38,000 people when we were in office.
And it’s why I’ve proposed a comprehensive criminal justice package in this campaign. It begins by passing the SAFE Justice Act.
But my plan goes further.
I believe we should have no mandatory minimums, an end to private prisons, additional funding for drug courts, bail reform, no juveniles in adult prisons, mandatory treatment – not jail – for those with drug addictions, decriminalizing marijuana – automatic expungement for marijuana convictions, job training and education in prison automatic restoration of voting rights and access to Pell grants once a sentence is served.
I believe my criminal justice reform package is as strong – or stronger – than any that anyone else has proposed. And I’m open to other ideas.
Plenty of other attacks have – and will – come.
I am not beholden to banks because I supported the bankruptcy bill. I believed I was taking a bad bill that was going to pass without my vote and making it better.
With regards to trade, I don’t believe there is a stronger voice for working people in this country than mine – and we better wake up and realize that either we will set the rules of the road in the future or China will -- to our great detriment.
Recent attacks on a woman’s right to keep personal health decisions between her and her doctor are offensive to me. I will move to codify Roe v. Wade if this Court strikes it down.
I voted for the Iraq War – that didn’t stop President Obama from turning to me to handle Iraq once we took office – giving me the responsibility to bring home 150,000 combat troops from Iraq – which I did. Including my son.
I don’t believe there is anyone in this race more prepared to lead the world today than me. That may sound like bragging. It’s not. It’s just what I believe.
The central problem we have right now is an erratic President who has embraced dictators and tyrants, like Putin and Kim Jung Un – but has abandoned our most important allies and shredded our most valued alliances.
I can fix that problem.
If you look at the issues I’ve been attacked on, nearly every one of them is for something well before 2008.
It’s as if my opponents want you to believe I served from 1972 until 2008 – and then took the next eight years off. They don’t want to talk much about my time as Vice President.
It was the honor of a lifetime to serve with a man who was a great President, an historic figure, and most important to me – a friend.
I was vetted by him and selected by him. I will take his judgment of my record, my character, and my ability to handle the job over anyone else’s.
I know there are many who want this campaign to be about the past. My past. I get it.
That’s the game. But this isn’t a game.
We all know in our bones this election is different. If we don’t beat Donald Trump the character of this nation will fundamentally and forever be altered.
I’m determined to make this this election about America’s future. About the issues in front of us – not behind us.
I believe we should protect and improve Obamacare by adding a public option.
A number of other folks running want to get rid of it and start over with something new. I don’t.
I believe the key to immigration is to deal with the problem before people get to our border.
That’s why I want to put back in place the $700 plus million support program I put together and oversaw in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador – the same program Trump just got rid of.
I believe we can and must deal with the existential crisis posed by climate change – and the next President must lead the world to do that. I will.
I believe we must repair the damage Trump has done by embracing autocrats and dictators – and once again lead the world by the power of our example, not the example of our power.
I believe we must rebuild the backbone of the nation – because Wall Street didn’t build America – working people did.
I believe we must take a stand against the rising tide of hate groups – especially neo-Nazis and white supremacists.
And yes – I believe we have to work across the aisle and find common ground to unify this country. I know that some of my opponents think that’s delusional and naïve. I don’t.
For all our problems, I have to say I have never been more optimistic about this nation’s future. And one of the reasons is because of the perspective I gained over my years in public service.
When I think back to 1968 and see the image of a burning Wilmington – I also think about being in the very same place in January of 2009; waiting at the train station to be picked up by the first African-American ever elected
President of this nation to ride the 108 miles to Washington, DC to be sworn in as his Vice President.
You know it’s funny. When I talk about the Obama years, I’m told it’s ancient history.
But when others talk about something I said or did in the 1970s, it’s like it was just yesterday.
I know the history of this country. I’m amazed at how far we’ve come. I’m even more amazed at what I know we’re capable of doing. If we come together there is nothing we can’t do.
That gives me the strength to know we can defeat Donald Trump and once again put this nation on the path toward dignity and decency and justice.
Thank you.
And may God protect our troops.
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